NationStates Jolt Archive


What exactly is "Organic Milk"

Khadgar
16-02-2007, 21:49
As some of you may be aware I work for a trucking company. One of the many products we haul is milk (packaged, not bulk). We have an overage (excess product) of 85 cases of Organic Milk.


What the hell?


What makes milk organic? What makes milk inorganic? Last I checked regular milk isn't made of silicon or anything typically referred to as inorganic.
Ultraviolent Radiation
16-02-2007, 21:54
As some of you may be aware I work for a trucking company. One of the many products we haul is milk (packaged, not bulk). We have an overage (excess product) of 85 cases of Organic Milk.


What the hell?


What makes milk organic? What makes milk inorganic? Last I checked regular milk isn't made of silicon or anything typically referred to as inorganic.

Well, Organic stuff usually refers to plants that haven't been grown using pesticides. I guess organic milk is made by cows that haven't eaten plants grown with pesticides?
The Nazz
16-02-2007, 21:56
Well, Organic stuff usually refers to plants that haven't been grown using pesticides. I guess organic milk is made by cows that haven't eaten plants grown with pesticides?

Or treated with growth hormones or antibiotics while producing milk for distribution.
Smunkeeville
16-02-2007, 21:57
organic milk comes from cows that have been fed organic food and have not been on hormones.
Rainbowwws
16-02-2007, 22:00
One more time!
Smunkeeville
16-02-2007, 22:01
One more time!

I posted mine before The Nazz...........:mad:
Potarius
16-02-2007, 22:01
organic milk comes from cows that have been fed organic food and have not been on hormones.

And, in my experience, organic milk tastes a lot better than the "default" stuff. It's a lot more expensive, but if you have the money, you should buy it.
Desperate Measures
16-02-2007, 22:02
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_somatotropin
Maraque
16-02-2007, 22:04
Organic food FTW. :D
Utracia
16-02-2007, 22:07
Sounds like something to be avoided.
Khadgar
16-02-2007, 22:08
And, in my experience, organic milk tastes a lot better than the "default" stuff. It's a lot more expensive, but if you have the money, you should buy it.

As it happens I'm staring at 85 cases of the crap. Can't say I'm tempted to try it though.
Smunkeeville
16-02-2007, 22:08
And, in my experience, organic milk tastes a lot better than the "default" stuff. It's a lot more expensive, but if you have the money, you should buy it.

we hardly ever drink cow milk anymore around here, I am slowly slinking back into my vegan days.....I remember having a shirt that said "momma cow's milk is for makin' baby cow fat"
Potarius
16-02-2007, 22:11
Just wait 'til you have to ride down in an elevator, or you're taking a shit & reach out for some recycled toilet paper.

Ah jeez. I have to sweep up enough of that stuff on Tuesdays and Thursdays...
Similization
16-02-2007, 22:12
What the hell?Just wait 'til you have to ride down in an elevator, or you're taking a shit & reach out for some recycled toilet paper.

Language doesn't have to make sense internally all the time. It's enough that it's understood by the people using it. What would you suggest calling organic products? Sustainable maybe?we hardly ever drink cow milk anymore around here, I am slowly slinking back into my vegan days.....I remember having a shirt that said "momma cow's milk is for makin' baby cow fat"I grow fonder of you daily Smunk.
The Nazz
16-02-2007, 22:20
As it happens I'm staring at 85 cases of the crap. Can't say I'm tempted to try it though.

You ought to--it really does taste better than the regular stuff.
Rainbowwws
16-02-2007, 22:24
As it happens I'm staring at 85 cases of the crap. Can't say I'm tempted to try it though.

I really don't think the taste is that much different. Or is your motto like mine "If it isn't processed its not real food". I never eat fresh fruit I don't like the taste of milk on its own. It atleast needs a sugary cereal in it and I don't eat meat 360 out of the 365 days a year and thats only if its fast food or seafood that doesn't look like seafood.
Potarius
16-02-2007, 22:25
I really don't think the taste is that much different. Or is your motto like mine "If it isn't processed its not real food". I never eat fresh fruit I don't like the taste of milk on its own. It atleast needs a sugary cereal in it and I don't eat meat 360 out of the 365 days a year and thats only if its fast food or seafood that doesn't look like seafood.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...

...Peter Griffin!
Desperate Measures
16-02-2007, 22:25
I really don't think the taste is that much different. Or is your motto like mine "If it isn't processed its not real food". I never eat fresh fruit I don't like the taste of milk on its own. It atleast needs a sugary cereal in it and I don't eat meat 360 out of the 365 days a year and thats only if its fast food or seafood that doesn't look like seafood.

Yeah...uh... good luck with that.
Snafturi
16-02-2007, 22:27
It tastes better and doesn't have antibiotics.
Potarius
16-02-2007, 22:33
Why? I am very thin. I just eat poorly.

Yeah, but you trail off just like him. :p
Rainbowwws
16-02-2007, 22:34
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...

...Peter Griffin!

Why? I am very thin. I just eat poorly.
Phantasy Encounter
16-02-2007, 22:35
As some of you may be aware I work for a trucking company...
Which one?
Khadgar
16-02-2007, 22:37
Which one?

None you've ever likely heard of, and not going to say because the last thing I need is the populace of NSG trolls looking up our 800 number and bothering me at work.
Potarius
16-02-2007, 22:37
Awe :( I just wanted to talk about the most important subject in the world. Me!

If you say Ballard fast enough, it kind of sounds like Mallard...
Rainbowwws
16-02-2007, 22:38
Yeah, but you trail off just like him. :p

Awe :( I just wanted to talk about the most important subject in the world. Me!
Unlucky_and_unbiddable
16-02-2007, 22:38
I never eat fresh fruit

Good luck with that. Ew.
Dorstfeld
16-02-2007, 22:40
I wouldn't drink milk with organs in it. Yeuch.
Teh_pantless_hero
16-02-2007, 22:49
And, in my experience, organic milk tastes a lot better than the "default" stuff. It's a lot more expensive, but if you have the money, you should buy it.
It would probably be cheaper to raise and milk your own cow.
Flatus Minor
16-02-2007, 22:56
Organic milk contains only pure Mi (the chemical symbol for Milk) :rolleyes:
Phantasy Encounter
16-02-2007, 23:04
None you've ever likely heard of, and not going to say because the last thing I need is the populace of NSG trolls looking up our 800 number and bothering me at work.

Good point. :eek: I only ask because I work for a food-grade carrier in northern California that has terminals across the US.
The Nazz
16-02-2007, 23:14
It would probably be cheaper to raise and milk your own cow.

It's not that much more expensive. Organic cheese, on the other hand...
Khadgar
16-02-2007, 23:18
Good point. :eek: I only ask because I work for a food-grade carrier in northern California that has terminals across the US.

Caito by any chance?
Intangelon
16-02-2007, 23:18
we hardly ever drink cow milk anymore around here, I am slowly slinking back into my vegan days.....I remember having a shirt that said "momma cow's milk is for makin' baby cow fat"

Not if it's skim, it isn't. It's for making cereal taste yummy, for emulsifying the ingredients in my smoothies or shakes, and it cannot be beat for dunking cookies into. Soy doesn't touch it. Besides there's no such thing as soy milk because, as Lewis Black so elegantly put it, "there's no soy titty.

And lactose intolerant milk? If you're lactose intolerant, you can't have milk, so -- what's in that carton? And what's it doing so close to my moo-cow-fuck-milk?"
The Nazz
16-02-2007, 23:19
And lactose intolerant milk? If you're lactose intolerant, you can't have milk, so -- what's in that carton? And what's it doing so close to my moo-cow-fuck-milk?"
It's nasty tasting, is what it is. I bought some by accident one time--I'll never make that mistake again.
Rainbowwws
16-02-2007, 23:25
And lactose intolerant milk? If you're lactose intolerant, you can't have milk, so -- what's in that carton? And what's it doing so close to my moo-cow-fuck-milk?"
Lactose is an ingredient of milk and can be removed and replaced with another type of sugar.
Phantasy Encounter
16-02-2007, 23:40
Caito by any chance?

No, sorry.
Intangelon
16-02-2007, 23:46
Lactose is an ingredient of milk and can be removed and replaced with another type of sugar.

See, now, I know that. That's why that part of the post was in quotes and attributed to Lewis Black. It was a routine. And a funny one. But thanks for taking it literally. I enjoyed it.:p
Callisdrun
16-02-2007, 23:52
You ought to--it really does taste better than the regular stuff.

Yes, quite scrumptuous in fact.
Callisdrun
16-02-2007, 23:56
Not if it's skim, it isn't. It's for making cereal taste yummy, for emulsifying the ingredients in my smoothies or shakes, and it cannot be beat for dunking cookies into. Soy doesn't touch it. Besides there's no such thing as soy milk because, as Lewis Black so elegantly put it, "there's no soy titty.


For some reason, when it's hot out, I like skim milk best. It seems colder for some reason. Some people don't like it, but I grew up drinking skim milk, so it's familiar.

And for cookie dunking, certainly soy milk substitute is woefully inadequate.
Sel Appa
17-02-2007, 00:10
As some of you may be aware I work for a trucking company. One of the many products we haul is milk (packaged, not bulk). We have an overage (excess product) of 85 cases of Organic Milk.


What the hell?


What makes milk organic? What makes milk inorganic? Last I checked regular milk isn't made of silicon or anything typically referred to as inorganic.

EBAY!
Good Lifes
17-02-2007, 00:46
Organic is the biggest movement in food. It is a "back to nature" movement. Nothing can be used that God didn't make. That includes food grown without chemicals, no artificial medicine, no hormones. The list depends on which certification group is used. In the case of milk, that might also mean no homogenization, which is the term for the process that breaks the cream into small pieces that won't separate from the milk. So if you don't shake it and take a swallow from the top, you will get pure cream. Also, there is "raw" milk which means it also hasn't been pasteurized. Which means that is hasn't been heated to kill bacteria.

On my farm we don't do anything that would not be organic, but I don't like to do the paperwork needed for certification. So I just tell my customers I'm not legally organic. Most of the time that satisfys them.

Many customers have allergies and other health problems that limit their intake of processed food. Others as a preventative. Read a few labels of regular food and it will scare the begibbers out of you. I'm not radical about eating organic, but if I have a choice and the cost isn't too much difference I'll choose organic. We never know which chemical will be outlawed next.
The Infinite Dunes
17-02-2007, 01:06
And, in my experience, organic milk tastes a lot better than the "default" stuff. It's a lot more expensive, but if you have the money, you should buy it.I've found that it makes very little difference. The things that I find make milk taste like crap are homogenization and UHT.. Pasteurisation too, but I prefer my milk to be deficient in alive bacteria.
The Infinite Dunes
17-02-2007, 01:11
Organic is the biggest movement in food. It is a "back to nature" movement. Nothing can be used that God didn't make. That includes food grown without chemicals...Without chemicals... what do you mean by chemicals? You might be surprised to learn that farmers can use 'natural' pesticides on their produce and still call it organic, despite some of these pesticides being more toxic to mammals than artificial pesticides.
Good Lifes
17-02-2007, 01:34
Without chemicals... what do you mean by chemicals? You might be surprised to learn that farmers can use 'natural' pesticides on their produce and still call it organic, despite some of these pesticides being more toxic to mammals than artificial pesticides.

I forgot for a moment that I was on a nit picking forum.

I should have said that organic doesn't use "man-made" chemicals. What is allowable depends on which certifying group that the grower uses. Some are very strict and some more lenient. That really complicates the definition of what is organic. The real radicals in this area know which certifying group they trust best and which they won't follow. For the average person, that gets to be too much work. For the average person, organic means that those chemicals that are used will break-down (if possible) by natural means. I say "if possible" because some things--like copper--don't break down in nature.

Rather than chemical fertilizer, they use "green manure" (plowing under things like rye or barley) or animal waste. To control weeds they rotate crops and idle the land. To control insects they use parasites when possible and build a lot of bat houses. Then there are some "earths" (dirt mined that contains natural chemicals) that can be spread to balance the fertility of the soil or kill pests. It takes years of study (and in most cases 7 years of practice and bookkeeping) before the crop can be legally called organic.
Teh_pantless_hero
17-02-2007, 01:38
Which makes organic better how? Sounds like its a crapshoot of death for your average person and a hobby in intellectual snobbery for people dedicated to it.
The Pacifist Womble
17-02-2007, 01:41
And, in my experience, organic milk tastes a lot better than the "default" stuff. It's a lot more expensive, but if you have the money, you should buy it.
Not here!
Similization
17-02-2007, 01:46
I forgot for a moment that I was on a nit picking forum.Good reply, but I suspect you might as well throw in the towel. Both rules & practices are far too diverse to say anything terribly specific, and there's bound to be examples of hopeless idiots who've somehow managed to poison their produce, pollute their land & kill half the local ecosystem.

You just can't win. Regardless of what you say, you'll end up being painted as an ignorant savage who wants us all to hug trees & live in caves.

*leans back & watches the trainwreck progress*
The Pacifist Womble
17-02-2007, 01:49
I've found that it makes very little difference. The things that I find make milk taste like crap are homogenization and UHT.. Pasteurisation too, but I prefer my milk to be deficient in alive bacteria.
All commercially available milk is pasteurised and homogenised.
Similization
17-02-2007, 01:52
All commercially available milk is pasteurised and homogenised.Depends on where you live.
Good Lifes
17-02-2007, 02:20
Not if it's skim, it isn't. It's for making cereal taste yummy, for emulsifying the ingredients in my smoothies or shakes, and it cannot be beat for dunking cookies into. Soy doesn't touch it. Besides there's no such thing as soy milk because, as Lewis Black so elegantly put it, "there's no soy titty.

And lactose intolerant milk? If you're lactose intolerant, you can't have milk, so -- what's in that carton? And what's it doing so close to my moo-cow-fuck-milk?"

The lactose problem is caused by a different genetic makeup. It's most common in Native Americans and Asians, also occurs in other groups where milk wasn't a part of their evolutionary history. Those that have the problem don't have the chemical-hormone-enzyme (not sure of proper word) in their body to break down the lactose (milk sugar). So, the enzyme is added to the milk to break it down so the body doesn't have to. So it's milk in the carton, it's just milk that has had the natural sugar broken down so it can be digested by those evolution didn't give that ability.
Good Lifes
17-02-2007, 02:25
we hardly ever drink cow milk anymore around here, I am slowly slinking back into my vegan days.....I remember having a shirt that said "momma cow's milk is for makin' baby cow fat"

As we've discussed on other threads. Baby and Mama are both going to get eaten sooner or later. And since they can't survive if turned loose in the wild, the choice is now or later.
Similization
17-02-2007, 02:35
As we've discussed on other threads. Baby and Mama are both going to get eaten sooner or later. And since they can't survive if turned loose in the wild, the choice is now or later.You have a problem with eating fatty, or what are you trying to say?

The current level of animal production isn't sustainable, regardless of method. It's an environmental disaster & a human catastrophy. Implying that it's wrong not to support growth of animal production is pretty messed up.
The Pacifist Womble
17-02-2007, 02:36
Depends on where you live.
He lives in London, I live in Dublin. I doubt that the milk regulations are much different.
Similization
17-02-2007, 02:42
He lives in London, I live in Dublin. I doubt that the milk regulations are much different.I'm sure you're right, but are you certain about the homogenisation bit? I seem to recall seeing unhomogenised milk on the shelves.
Hoyteca
17-02-2007, 02:53
When you get organic milk, you KNOW what you are getting: milk. When you buy regular milk, you're getting milk and whatever they injected into the cows. That's probably why girls are developing quicker than ever. Nowadays, regular milk has so many different chemicals in it that I wouldn't be surprised if 8-year old boys started getting beards. I'm not talking peach fuzz. I'm talking little Santa Clauses walking around. Body-altering artificial chemicals in what is supposed to be a safe and natural drink.
Teh_pantless_hero
17-02-2007, 03:15
When you get organic milk, you KNOW what you are getting: milk. When you buy regular milk, you're getting milk and whatever they injected into the cows. That's probably why girls are developing quicker than ever. Nowadays, regular milk has so many different chemicals in it that I wouldn't be surprised if 8-year old boys started getting beards. I'm not talking peach fuzz. I'm talking little Santa Clauses walking around. Body-altering artificial chemicals in what is supposed to be a safe and natural drink.

Some one isn't paying attention. "Organic" growers are allowed to spray use pesticides that are poisonous to humans.
Anti-Social Darwinism
17-02-2007, 03:20
I had my first contact with "Whole Foods Market" when I moved to Colorado (before that, in California, organic food was something you really had to look hard for and really had to pay for). Because of that, I'm buying a lot more organic food, including milk. It's slightly more expensive, and tastes a whole lot better. Worth the extra cost, I think.
Domici
17-02-2007, 03:25
Well, Organic stuff usually refers to plants that haven't been grown using pesticides. I guess organic milk is made by cows that haven't eaten plants grown with pesticides?

Organic doesn't really have a definition, except something to do with carbon based molecules. A standard by which all food is organic.

It's baisicly any of a large number of efforts to keep cows in as natural a condition as possible. Grazing grass in fields instead of eating grain out of a bucket. No hormones. No anti-biotics (except to treat specific infections I suppose) and not living in lightless pens with no capacity for movement.

The thing is, organic isn't a rigidly defined standard. So any one of those things could qualify your milk as organic and still produce shitty milk.
Whereyouthinkyougoing
17-02-2007, 03:53
The thing is, organic isn't a rigidly defined standard. So any one of those things could qualify your milk as organic and still produce shitty milk.Not really.I just looked it up on wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_food#Legal_definition) because I wasn't sure how it worked in the US, but it's the same as here: to be "certified organic" products have to fulfill certain government standards as to what constitutes organic food.

Now, I guess companies can still call their non-organic yogurt "organic" because it's probably not a legally binding word, but then they won't get the certificate (i.e. usually a "seal" of some sort on the package). We have the same situation here with "Bio", but even if a few companies did try to pull the wool over people's eyes, they would soon notice that people who go for organic products in the first place are usually way too well-informed to not know to look for the certificate on the box or wrapper, and nobody would buy their stuff.
Cannot think of a name
17-02-2007, 04:25
Milk is gross.

I would eat an apple, or an orange, and drink their juice.

I would not suckle a cow.

Now some might point out that I eat ice cream and love cheese, well-there is that convenient process that makes it something other than milk, which is gross and has a gross weird texture to it.

Gross.
Katganistan
17-02-2007, 05:41
Well, Organic stuff usually refers to plants that haven't been grown using pesticides. I guess organic milk is made by cows that haven't eaten plants grown with pesticides?

And who have not had growth hormones shot into them so that two year olds who drink the milk start having periods.
Katganistan
17-02-2007, 05:46
Not if it's skim, it isn't. It's for making cereal taste yummy, for emulsifying the ingredients in my smoothies or shakes, and it cannot be beat for dunking cookies into. Soy doesn't touch it. Besides there's no such thing as soy milk because, as Lewis Black so elegantly put it, "there's no soy titty.

And lactose intolerant milk? If you're lactose intolerant, you can't have milk, so -- what's in that carton? And what's it doing so close to my moo-cow-fuck-milk?"

I drink it. It has lactase added to it, and enzyme which breaks the sugar, lactose, down so I don't end up doubled over in pain. ;)

To me, it tastes uber-creamy, but I am aware that a lot of people hate the taste.
Good Lifes
17-02-2007, 07:38
Organic doesn't really have a definition, except something to do with carbon based molecules. A standard by which all food is organic.

It's baisicly any of a large number of efforts to keep cows in as natural a condition as possible. Grazing grass in fields instead of eating grain out of a bucket. No hormones. No anti-biotics (except to treat specific infections I suppose) and not living in lightless pens with no capacity for movement.

The thing is, organic isn't a rigidly defined standard. So any one of those things could qualify your milk as organic and still produce shitty milk.

We aren't talking organic chemistry where anything with carbon is organic.

As stated above, there are several certifying groups so the standards aren't consistent. And some states have their own definitions which aren't consistent, but most are going to the California standard because of the size of the market.

Generally you can feed grain as long as the grain is also certified organic, raised without man made chemicals. The grass or hay also has to have been raise organic. Usually you can't use anti-biotics. However you can keep them confined as you would other cattle. Allowing them to choose grass is optional in most cases. The only animals where that makes a difference is "free range" chickens. And that is kind of a strange situation. To be "free range" a chicken only needs to be given the option to go outside for a limited number of days. And because of the breeds of chickens today, few use that option. Most stay inside and eat even when the door is open. "Free range" chickens are on the floor and aren't caged so they do get more exercise which makes their meat richer.

As far as quality, one of the problems is there are no preservatives added. That means that the shelf life is much shorter and you have less time to eat it after you get it home.